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Newground Celebrates its Second Decade — Thank You!
Newground is proud to have again co-sponsored the Seattle THUNDER Democracy Festival.
Newground presented a well-received presentation on Socially Responsible Investing.
Recent Presentations
Recent presentations include the Responsible Wealth national conference, the
Oregon Sustainability Forum, the Rolling Thunder and Seattle Thunder
Democracy Festivals, the Conscientious Projector Film Festival on Bainbridge
Island, and the Phinney Neighborhood Association.
Publications
We’ve published opinion pieces that have appeared in the Puget Sound Business Journal,
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and The Nation newspaper (Thailand), and
conducted interviews on KBCS’s “Voices of Diversity, “The
Spotlight Program” of KWJZ and KKNW, and KEXP’s
“Mind Over Matters”.
Proxy Vote Victory at the SEC
We worked on the successful (and enormously important) campaign to improve proxy voting rules at the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and are hard at work now on an equally critical
SEC rule to change how directors are elected to corporate boards.
Fair Trade Coffee — Proctor & Gamble
In conjunction with Oxfam America and Global Exchange, Newground engaged in company dialogs with
Proctor & Gamble (one of the world’s top four coffee purveyors) about Fair Trade coffee. This led to a
significant agreement under which P&G will launch a Fair Trade line under its Millstone brand.
Costco / Caterpillar / Pharmaceutical Companies & AIDS Drugs
We’re in discussions now and have filed shareholder resolutions with Costco regarding a highly controversial
store planned for Cuernavaca, Mexico; with Caterpillar about the use of its equipment in human rights violations
in Gaza; and with several major pharmaceutical and other companies concerning improving access to AIDS drugs in
developing countries.
Okefenokee Victory — DuPont
An important shareholder victory was finalized when DuPont announced a gift of 16,000 acres to protect
critical lands adjacent to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. This is land that DuPont
had intended to strip-mine in a project that provoked heated national debate, and was the subject of two
shareholder resolutions crafted by Newground at the lead of a sizable group of co-filers. This donation,
the largest outright land gift in Georgia's history, will permanently protect the acreage from mining or development.
While we credit the Sierra Club for maintaining consistent pressure on DuPont over an extended period of time,
the Sierra Club credits our shareholder action, stating "It would never have been done if you
[the shareholders] had not come on board."
Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) / Burma
Newground is a founding member of the steering committee for the Alliance to Defend the Alien Tort Claims Act
(a critical human rights accountability law), and we took part in the successful push that recently passed the
Burma Freedom and Democracy Act through Congress.
Community Investing / Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF)
On the investment front, we continue to be members of the Social Investment Forum’s Community
Investing Honor Roll, and Bruce has completed earning his Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF)
designation.
Please call to get involved with or to find out more about any of these issues!
Newground's Unique Approach
Newground’s focus on community investment and direct shareholder advocacy distinguishes us
from the majority of SRI/ESG (socially responsible investment / environment social governance) firms in the country that only screen investments.
Screening means avoidance, whereas engagement leads to change.
While maintaining stable and
productive investment portfolios, Newground places clients at the leading edge of the social investment movement — which brings us all closer to the positive future we desire.
Newground serves any person, organization or institution that recognizes the inherent need to align investments with a larger set of social and environmental values, and we strive to create positive change without any sacrifice to financial performance.
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Now enjoying its second decade, Newground Social Investment provides individual,
institutional, GLBT, and not-for-profit clients with:
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Socially responsive (SRI) money management that
integrates investment decisions with social concerns and personal or institutional values. |
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Competitive financial returns along with positive social impact. |
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Financial coaching and Life Planning that creates
peace of mind, a sense of integrity and financial security. |
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Community investment for strong local benefits. |
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Shareholder advocacy for transparency and accountability. |
Newground is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor serving any person,
organization or institution seeking positive change along with competitive performance.
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